


Returning the Favor

by Angelicat2



Series: Sheith Month 2018 [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Day 8-save me/hover-bike, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Keith gets beat up, Mostly Canon Compliant, POV Shiro (Voltron), Past Child Abuse, Sheith Month 2018, and shiro is there to help him, sheithmonth2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 23:56:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15254886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: Shiro doesn't meet Keith in school, he meets him one night in an alleyway.“What is your name?” Shiro asked as the boy stayed silent, "I'm Shiro."“Keith,” the boy - Keith - stated as Shiro looked him over, “I’m okay. I need to go.”“I can’t leave you by yourself,” Shiro saw the boy start to protest, “Not because I want to be mean, but because you’re hurt. You might have a concussion, Keith. At least let me look you over.”Keith stared at him for a moment before nodding again, wary as ever and just as tense. Now that they were in the light, Shiro could see the bruises on his cheek, and how his eyes never quite focused on Shiro. That wasn’t a good sign. Keith was in a red and white jacket that was a little dirty with sand, mud, and blood. His face was kind of chubby, but Shiro doubted now that he was as young as he looked.





	Returning the Favor

Shiro was walking one night. It was kind of chilly outside since it was the desert. Shiro should have been back at the Garrison by now, but he’d decided to get some time for himself. He had been packed full with his time at the military school. Between taking multiple high-level classes, helping other cadets, and beginning his own training for real-world missions, Shiro felt like he never had a moment to just breathe. Taking a deep breath of fresh air in, he was going to head back to his Garrison-borrowed vehicle when he heard a cry.

“Shut up, loser,” Shiro stalked forward into an empty alleyway as he heard some more noise, “Stop making so much noise.”

Shiro heard some more scraping sounds before something slammed into what could have been a dark garbage bin. Shiro squinted as his eyes adjusted to the dark, taking in four figures in the blackness. Three were bigger and facing away from him as they crowded around a much smaller person who stood guarded. On the ground laid another bigger guy, knocked unconscious by the trash can. That must have been the noise he’d heard.

“L-leave me alone,” the smaller boy, who looked no more than ten, growled as he backed up only to hit the wall with his back, “Back off.”

“Oh, the little kid is telling us to back off,” another mocked as he stepped closer to the clearly agitated and wounded boy, “Why would we? You got no one to watch your back. Who will even care.”

“Shut up!”

“You’re just an orphan,” the next snickered harshly as he landed a punch to the boy’s face, and the smaller smacked into the wall, “Neither of your parents cares about you. Clearly, or they’d still be here.”

“You’re lying!” The boy glared as he nearly hissed in anger, “They cared.”

“Or maybe you got them killed,” the first stated as Shiro’s blood ran cold at how cruel the bullies were being, “Just face it, you’re probably not even human. Everybody gives up on you with good reasons. You don’t deserve to be loved.”

That must have been the breaking point because the kid snapped. Before Shiro could jump in to help, one of the jerks was punched hard enough to fly a few feet backward. The kid sure had a wicked punch. Another one of the boy’s got a drop on him as he kicked the smaller kid in the gut. Said boy didn’t pause, only letting out a small grunt, as he ducked out of the way of another punch. The first bully’s fist smashed into the third’s as the kid moved out of the way. What he didn’t see was the one he’d flung was right behind him. Arms wrapped around him as he let out a startled gasp before he was smashed into the wall. Shiro moved just as he heard the crunch of bones as the same one slammed the boy’s head down on the ground again. Just as the first boy kicked the defenseless boy in the ribs, Shiro grabbed the third one who let out a high-pitched scream as he twisted his arm behind his body and threw him to the side. Rushing forward, he stopped the first one from hurting the wounded boy anymore as he kicked his feet out from under him. As the teen crashed to the ground, Shiro threw a punch at the last one who didn’t duck in time. He fell flat on his face as Shiro crouched down to get the injured boy out of there.

The raven-haired kid lashed out when he tried pulling on his thin arm. Shiro grew worried when his movements were slightly slower than they should have been.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Shiro gently patted the boy’s shoulder, trying to calm him down and keeping his voice steady, “I’m here to help you.”

“‘M fine,” the younger boy panted as he pushed up a little only to fall to the ground clenching his middle, “Got this…”

“You’re hurt,” Shiro heard two of the bullies groan and knew they’d be on the move soon to either attack again or run, “We have to go. I’ll help you get out of here.”

He seemed to hesitate, dark eyes watching Shiro before he nodded slightly. Shiro held him up gently as he limped away. Shouldering much of his weight, he almost carried the boy away from the four. Going at a slow pace, he still felt bad for every little whimper and grunt that the younger let out. He was still gripping his ribs as they marched onward. Minutes later, under the light of a street lamp, Shiro paused to inspect his wounds. The kid gave him a small glare.

“What is your name?” Shiro asked as the boy stayed silent, "I'm Shiro."

“Keith,” the boy - Keith - stated as Shiro looked him over, “I’m okay. I need to go.”

“I can’t leave you by yourself,” Shiro saw the boy start to protest, “Not because I want to be mean, but because you’re hurt. You might have a concussion, Keith. At least let me look you over.”

Keith stared at him for a moment before nodding again, wary as ever and just as tense. Now that they were in the light, Shiro could see the bruises on his cheek, and how his eyes never quite focused on Shiro. That wasn’t a good sign. Keith was in a red and white jacket that was a little dirty with sand, mud, and blood. His face was kind of chubby, but Shiro doubted now that he was as young as he looked. Maybe 14.

“I’m going to check your ribs, okay?”

“Okay,” Keith stated as Shiro slowly moved his hand to gently probe the younger’s ribs. He barely touched the boy’s chest before he got a yelp as Keith almost curled up on himself.

“Keith?” Shiro held onto the younger as he collapsed, “Keith!”

“‘M ok-okay,” he whimpered as he tried to straighten up but fell back down as Shiro held him up, “Ow…”

“Keith,” Shiro begged as he took the boy’s sweaty face in his hands to ground him, “Keith. You’re really hurt. I don’t want to do anything you don’t want, but I have to get you treatment. I’ll take you back to the Garrison.”

“O-Okay,” Keith nodded as he winced and started to move forward a bit, “Gotta get my bike.”

“I have a car nearby,” he started only for Keith to frown and try pushing away.

“I have to get my bike,” Keith huffed, and Shiro nodded as he let the boy take the lead, it was no use arguing with him at that moment. It took a good twenty minutes to walk ten blocks in the opposite direction of his vehicle, but soon, they came upon a cherry red hoverbike. Shiro let out a silent gasp of surprise as he led Keith to the machine. Hoverbikes were hard to control and even more dangerous to drive. Keith must have been a fairly good pilot to drive it. He also had to be at least 16.

“I’ll drive,” Shiro stated as the younger stared at him again, “You don’t know how to get to the Garrison, and you’re injured. I don’t want them getting worse because you tried to drive.”

“Fine,” Keith huffed as he stared at Shiro with a waiting look.

“What are yo-” he realized why Keith waited, “I’m not letting you ride behind me.”

“But-”

“What if you accidentally let go of me?” Shiro nearly hissed but calmed down when he saw Keith’s flinch, “What if you are hurting and I don’t know about it because I can’t check on you?”

“Fine,” Keith still had a limb around his torso, but Shiro got the feeling he would have crossed his arms if it wouldn’t have hurt so much, “Let’s go.”

Shiro gave him some space as he dragged his leg across the seat by the tiny windshield and let out a whimper. Making sure Keith was aware of where he was at, Shiro climbed onto the hoverbike, taking the controls into his hands. He felt something being pressed into his hand as Keith leaned forward onto the vehicle, teeth clearly gritted in pain. Shiro carefully scooted closer to offer him a bit of support and protection from the night air as he started it with the keys. Turning the vehicle in a half spin, Shiro took off into the desert. What normally would take an hour in his car, took less than half an hour on the hoverbike. Soon enough, they were at the gates of the school. Shiro explained to the guards that he had to get Keith to the nurse. No one questioned him as he drove the hoverbike into the parking lot, sitting it down in his usual parking spot. Turning the machine off, he pocketed the keys before shaking Keith who groaned a little.

“Come on, buddy,” Shiro frowned when the younger barely moved, “Keith?”

“H-hurts,” Keith whimpered quietly as he started to lean to get off the vehicle, “Don’t feel s-so good.”

“Keith,” Shiro reached to steady the boy when his hand brushed Keith’s forehead, “You’re burning up. Let’s get you to the nurse.”

Keith nodded slowly as he moved off the bike. Getting to his feet, he almost tripped as his legs gave out. Shiro barely caught him in time as he pulled the boy into his arms, noticing that he definitely didn’t weigh what he was supposed to. Rushing to the door, he runs through it and down the halls to the medical wing. Black hair tickled his neck as warm breath ghosted over his shoulder just as he almost ran into one of the nurses. Keith felt fever-hot in his arms.

“He needs help,” Shiro stated as the woman led him to a treatment room, “I don’t know what’s wrong besides that he has a fever and got beat up.”

“Set him down on the table,” she grabbed some items as Shiro laid the younger boy on the metal table, “I need to check him to see if anything’s broken and if he has an infection.”

As soon as the Japanese man set Keith down, the 16-year-old freaked out. With a small cry, he gripped Shiro’s hand with way more strength than Shiro thought possible. His breathing picked up, which couldn’t have felt good with the injured ribs. As the nurse moved forward, Keith panicked, even more, trying to push away from her. Shiro gently gripped his hands in one and reached his other to the panicking boy’s shoulder.

“Keith,” he breathed as he held the other in place, “Keith. Listen to my voice. Breathe. Come on, buddy. Breathe with me.”

Slowly, painstakingly slowly, Keith’s breathing slowed down to a much better pace. Minutes later, the boy was back to breathing normally. Some sweat ran down his face, and Shiro pretended he didn’t see the glimmer in those grey, almost violet-tinted eyes.

“Sh-Shiro?” He whispered in confusion as he looked straight at the older man, “Wh-what?”

“It’s okay,” Shiro smiled back as Keith relaxed, “You’re okay. I think you have an infection. It might be causing you to see things.”

“Don’t...don’t like hospitals,” he admitted after a moment, eyes averted to the side, “H-hurts.”

Shiro didn’t know whether he was talking about the hospital hurting or him at that moment hurting, but Shiro felt something within him demanding he protect the boy only four years younger than him. If his grandpa hadn’t been there for him, Shiro could have ended up like this. Keith needed someone there for him. Shiro wasn’t going to give up on him now.

“Well, the nurse is nice, you’ll barely notice her,” Shiro saw the lady out of the corner of his eye as she waited patiently before he turned his full attention to Keith, “Just keep your eyes on me. I’ll make sure no one hurts you, okay?”

Keith nodded hesitantly but stayed relaxed.

“We have to get you treated though,” Shiro saw the look of fear in his face so he moved to calm the boy down, “I’ll be here the whole time.”

“Alright,” the nurse smiled kindly as she moved forward just enough for Keith to look at her, “My name is Nurse Sanders. I won’t hurt you, I just need to make sure you are okay.”

“Ok-okay,” Keith nodded as he watched her warily, sending Shiro a glance questioningly.

“Now, we need to remove your hoodie,” her smile didn’t leave as she cautiously moved her hands to the zipper on it, “I won’t touch anywhere unless I tell you beforehand. Can we take it off?”

Keith nodded. Shiro worked with her to remove the dirty piece of clothing, which they threw aside. The boy was dressed in a plain black t-shirt, which hung loosely off his frame. Even with the shirt, they could see the bruises. Yellows, blacks, reds, and greens painted the young man’s skin in patches, some older than others. Purple bruises littered the spots that weren’t covered. The worst was on his forearms, covered in them. Shiro knew they were from blocking strikes to his person. Most likely from the alleyway.

“I’m going to feel your arms to make sure there are no breaks,” Keith looked at them before nodding. The nurse felt his arms, which made Keith wince in pain. How Shiro hadn’t noticed it sooner when he had held him was a mystery. She hummed softly as she pulled back after a minute.

“Your arms are fine, if not a bit sore,” she glanced at Shiro and back to Keith, “Now, Keith, I’m going to need you to remove your shirt, so I can check your ribs and find where there may be an infection. If you want, I can have Shiro leave for a moment.”

“No,” Keith’s eyes latched onto Shiro quickly before he looked away, “He’s fine. I...want him to be here.”

“Okay,” the nurse spoke as Shiro let a smile grace his lips to hopefully help calm the boy down, “Do you need help getting out of it?”

“I can,” Keith muttered as he carefully pulled the loose shirt over his head. Their eyes widened when they took in the sight. Keith wasn’t spared from some bruises there either, and even Shiro could see that his ribs were hurt because of the bumps on them. Shiro was sure that the nurse also noticed the few jagged scars that littered the young man’s body. One was on his left side, just below his collarbone. Another was on his right hip, a thin line curving down to hide in the pants the boy wore. Another was on his left shoulder, a small white scar that looked a lot like a comet. 

But that wasn’t what had the nurse’s attention. Right on Keith’s right collarbone was a large spot of red skin that was obviously inflamed. Some tiny red lines carved their way through his skin, and even with the limited knowledge Shiro had on medical treatment and first aid, he knew it was bad. It was a wonder that the kid wasn’t dead or even more hurt. Some drainage leaked from it, mostly clear. 

"I need to put some medicine on it," she grabbed a bandage with some medicine as Keith started to panic a little, "It's okay."

"Keith," Shiro frowned as he came to realize why Keith was so jumpy around the woman and why he had the scars, "It's okay, Keith. No one's going to hurt you. I'll be here."

When he grabbed Keith's hand, the younger held on as he closed his eyes. Shiro could see he was having trouble pacing his breath.

"Patience yields focus," Shiro stated out of nowhere as he remembered the advice his grandpa had given him years ago in a similar situation, "That's good, Keith. I'll be here."

"Thanks, Shiro," Keith smiled as the nurse put the disinfectant on.

"I'm not giving up on you, Keith," Shiro's determination grew as he sent Keith a smile, "I'm going to get you into the Garrison. You're good at flying, and I know you can do it. You just have to believe in yourself."

The last thing Shiro remembered was the happy grin Keith had on his face.

.....

Shiro woke with a start. Sitting upright, it took awhile to get his bearings. Just as he noticed that he was not in the Garrison tent, he glanced to his left. There, sitting near his side, was a person he thought he'd never see. It was Keith. Keith had saved him.

(Keith would tell him later that he was just returning the favor, but Shiro knew without a doubt that Keith and he were meant to save each other)


End file.
